Eigxtes



(No Model.)

D.- W. GARRIGUES.

BILL FILE.

No. 331,125. Patented Nov. 24. 1885..

4 NrrED raras arci* Erice.

BILL-FILE.

SPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,125, dated November 24, 1885.

Application led September 12, 18E5. Serial No. 176,942. (No model.)

RIGUEs, of Woodbury, in the county of Glou-l cester and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bill- Files; 'and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. 1 i

My invention relates to an improvement in bill-les. Hitherto in that style of bill-le in which uprights and curved wires have been arranged to act in conjunction the curved wires have-been constructed to turn laterally out of their Contact with the uprights in order to allow a bill to be put on or taken off the spikes. This construction, while it obviates many of the objections urged against the more common formssuch as the single upright spike and the spring-actuated clampis nevertheless found to be objectionable, as the swinging of the curved wire tends gradually to loosen them and render their contact with the uprights imperfect.

The object of my present invention is to provide a bill-f1le which shall be free from the objectionable features of those hitherto constructed, and which will admit of a ready adjustment and removal of the bills or papers therefrom, and will holdthe papers thereon in such a position that they may be readily turned over into a position to be conveniently read, and in which a perfect contact between the points of the uprights and curved wires shall be maintained. A further object is to provide a neat, simple, and inexpensive device.

With these ends in View my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of the device with parts in a position to receive a bill or other paper. Fig. 2 is a view of the same in locked adjustment with papers on file, representing` also the manner of turning them over to read; and Fig. 3 is asectional view through one of the curved wires and its corresponding spike or upright, showing the manner of fastening the said wire and upright within the base.

A represents the base. It may be made of an upper and lower layer of wood and a mid die layer of metal and wood, or of metal alone,

or either the upper or lower layer, or both, `may be of metal.

When constructed. of wood alone, it should be composed of two or more layers with grains crossed, to prevent warping. Its size and shape are immaterial, provided only that it shall form a rest sufficiently broad and stable to be convenient forthe class ofpaper which it is to file. Twouprights, B, scarfed at their upper ends to formV sharp rounded points, having flat rear sides and transverse shoulders, as shown at b, are firmly set in the base at a convenient distance from the edge. The uprights B may be either hollow or solid, as found most convenient. They are rigidly secured to the base by beingv riveted or otherwise secured toa metallic plate, C, located between the upper and lower layers of the base. Between the two uprights B and the edge of the base the base is provided with a slot, D, in which a movable section of the base, d, is adapted to slide toward and away from the uprights. actuated by a spring, E, for example, the ten#v sion of which tends to hold the sliding section in its nearest adjustment to the uprights. The spring E here shown is secured at one end in a socket formed in the edge of the slot toward the uprights, and at the other end to the end of the slide d; but a spring might be located at the opposite end of the slide and constructed to act expansively in holding the slide toward`- the uprights, and it is evident that springs of various forms might be successfully employed. The portion of the base located directly over the position occupied by the spring E is preferably constructed so as to be readily removed for the purpose of renewing the spring when the latter becomes injured or worn. The movable section d may also be constructed of a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the two upper layers of the base and adapted to slide on the lower layer. A pair of guard-wires, F, are firmly set in the slide in positions corresponding to the uprights and a suitable distance therefrom, as shown. The upper ends of the wires F are bent over in curved form, as shown at f, their ends being flattened on the front sides and their points squared, as shown at fwhereby The sliding section d isA IOO yIo

they are adapted to rest in contact with the flattened and shouldered portions of the points of the uprights. The wires F are secured to the slide d by being riveted or otherwise secured to a metallic plate, G, located between the upper and lower layers of the slide'. This lmethod of attaching the uprights and wires to the base and slide hides the attachment from view, and the whole presents a neat finished appearance, while the attachment is secure against any liability'to work loose. To secure a perfect contact between the points of the uprights and the ends of the curved wires, and thereby insure a smooth joint between the uprights and curved wires, the points ofthe uprights and ends of the curved wires are magnetized.

For convenience in sliding the movable section of the base backwardly to disengage the curved wires from the uprights, a narrow strip or block, w, is glued or otherwise secured to the movable section near its edge to form a rest for the finger. A bill or other piece of paper is hooked on the two uprights by pressing the wires a short distance back. As soon as the pressure is removed, the wires automatically resume their normal positions,with

` their ends in contact with the points of the uprights, thereby preventing any possibility of the papers becoming displaced. When it is desired to turn any of the upper papers out of the way to read a lower paper,'they are readily slipped over the curved portions 'of the wires down onto the stems of the same out of the way. So, too, as the uprights become too 'full they may be cleared by slipping all lor a portion of the papers thereon over onto the wires.

' lInstead of placing the uprights on the main base A and the wires on the sliding section, the wires may be placed on the base and the uprights on the sliding section, and other changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to the construction herein set forth; but,

` Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a two-part base, one part being movably secured to the other, of a spike secured to one section, a curved wire secured to the other section, and a spring engaging the two sections for yielding] y holding the upper end of the wire in contact with the upper end of the spike.

2. The combination, with a two-part base, one part being movably secured to the other, of the spikes secured to one part of said base and provided with shouldered upper ends, the curved wires secured to .the other part of the base, and a spring engaging the two sections for yieldingly holding the upper ends of the wires in contact with the upper ends of the spikes.

3. The combination, with a two-part base, the metal plates secured within said sections,V and the spikes and wires secured to their respective blocks, of the spring interposed be tween the sections of the base, substantially as set forth.

4.l In a bill-iile, the combination, with a twopart base, a spike secured to one part of the base, and a curved-wire guard secured to the other part of the base, the upper ends of said spike and guard being Vmagnetized, of the spring for moving the wire guard and its section of the base toward the spike, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the .presence of two subscrib` ing witnesses.

DAVID WHITALL GABRIGUES.

Witnesses:

WM. D. SCOTT, ROBERT M. BURRoWs. 

